Method of demonstrating stroboscopic effect



Sept. 7, 1965 J. J. GEARY METHOD OF DEMONSTRATING STROBOSCOPIC EFFECT Filed June 15. 1964 Ill llllllll llllllllllllL.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,204,964 Patented Sept. 7, 1965 1 ,20 ,9 METHOD OF DEMONSTRATING STROBOSCOPIC v EFFECT John J. Gea'i'y, 71 Dexter Terrace, Tonawanda, NY. Filed June 15, 1964, Ser. No. 375,119 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-109) This invention relates to method of demonstrating strcbo'scopic efiect with a visual toy which is not only highly entertaining but also demonstrates a number of additional physical laws, particularly those related to manned or unmanned orbiting vehicles of the earth.

One or the principal objects of the invention is to provide an amusing and interesting toy which appeals to all age levels, being not only highly entertaining to operate and to watch, but also serving to demonstrate a number of physical laws and principles.

Another object is to provide such a toy which can be used indoors or outdoors and which is safe.

Another object is to provide such a toy which teaches muscular coordination and provides manual exercise. A specific object of the invention is to provide such a toy which simulates orbiting or the earth by a space vehicle, particularly by a pair of space vehicles, the operation of the toy illustrating how the space vehicles join each other to orbit as a single unit.

Another object of the present invention is to illustrate either the particular land and water areas over which an astronaut orbits when orbiting in a particular path, or the constellations under which a space vehicle travels when orbiting in a particular path.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a toy which can be used as a stroboscope, that is, as an instrument for viewing moving objects so that they appear to be stationary or to advance or retreat slower than their actual speed.

Another object is to provide such a toy which is eX- tremely low in cost.

Another object is to provide such a visible toy which can be put into serviceable condition and operated by very young children having little manual dexterity.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide means whereby a particular orbit can be observed, achieved or maintained.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a visual toy embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken on line 22, FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a modified form of the invention.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 5 represents a transparent rubber balloon inflated with a gas, such as air, it being an important feature of the invention that the wall of the inflated balloon be transparent so that the operation of the part or parts contained in the balloon can be visually observed. The balloon 5 is provided with the conventional outwardly projecting neck 6 through which the balloon is inflated and any form of stopper 7 can be employed for closing this neck after the balloon has been inflated and to maintain it in an inflated condition. In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the balloon 5 is in the form of a terrestrial globe, having imprinted thereon the continents 8 of the world in such manner as not to destroy the transparency of the Wall of the balloon and the ability to observe visually the action of the circular members contained within the balloon.

Additionally, diametral circular lines 9, 10 and 11 can be imprinted on the balloon in planes to serve as targets in the manner hereinafter described. These circular lines can be of different colors, say, red, yellow and white.

These circular members, indicated generally at 12, are in the form of disks each having a plastic body 13; While these disks can be of any suitable form they are shown as flat disks with center holes 14 and rims 15. They can,- however, be made of any fanciful form such as being made in simulation of present concepts of space stations including an outer annular rirn, spokes and an inner annular hub ring. Itis also an important feature of the invention that the disks 12 are specially manufactured of a fluorescent material which is capable of being activated by exposure to a fluorescent light or to daylight. This material can be of different colors for different disks. The disks 12 are preferably substantially larger than the passage through the filling neck 6 and this neck is distended in order to insert the disks into the rubber toy balloon 5, there preferably being two such disks. contained within the balloon.

A visual toy so constructed has a number of highly entertaining and interesting uses, particularly as related to space vehicles orbiting the earth.

Thus, since the wall of the inflated rubber toy balloon 5 is transparent, the contained disks 12 are clearly visible therein. By manually gyrating the balloon, these disks are put into circular. orbitwith their rims 15 rolling around the inner surface of the toy inflated balloon 5 in circular paths indicated by the dotted lines 18 and 19. These paths can be difierent, as illustrated, but not only do the paths tend to merge into each other but the disks may be manuevered to join each other and travel around side by side in the manner of a pair of astronauts joining each other in orbiting around the earth. This joinder is accomplished by exerting a slight manual pressure against the bottom of the balloon to render the balloon slightly non-spherical which condition causes the vehicles to catch up with each other.

Due to the inflated toy balloon being in the form of a terrestrial globe or the continents 8 imprinted thereon in such manner as not to interfere with viewing the contained disks 12, the land masses and oceans over which an astronaut travels is clearly illustrated and it is possible to gyrate the inflated balloon in such manner as to simulate the path of a particular space vehicle.

As a test of skill, the colored diametral lines 9, 10 and 11 can be used as targets, that is, the balloon can be gyrated in such manner as to cause the disks 12 to travel along a particular one of these diametral lines, or to shift from one line to another.

The presence of the fluorescent material is not merely to render the orbiting of the disks 12 visible at night, although it will be appreciated that such use provides a highly interesting spectacle. Another highly important result flowing from the glow illumination provided by the fluorescent material 16 is using the visual toy as a stroboscope, that is, as an instrument for viewing the orbiting luminescent disks 12 so that they appear to be stationary or so that they appear to either advance or back up very slowly. This stroboscope eflect can be achieved by operating the toy in the manner above described in the presence of an intermittent source of light, such as a television set or a fluorescent light fixture. When the toy is brought into action in the front of a television set where scanning takes place at the rate of 30 frames per second, when the balloon 5 is gyrated at such a speed as to cause the disks 12 to orbit at a speed of 30 frames per second, they will appear .to be stationary. As their speed of orbiting is increased slightly or dies down, they will appear to advance or back up at a correspondingly slow speed as compared with their actual speed of gyration.

The toy can also be used as a stroboscope under a fluorescent light operating at a frequency of, say, 60 cycles per second. A fluorescent light bulb produces an intermittent source of light at that frequency and when the toy is gyrated so as to cause the disks 12 to orbit at that frequency they will appear to be stationary.

The form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 3 is identical with the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that instead of the transparent inflated rubber toy balloon 5a being in the form of a terrestrial globe, it is in the form of a celestial map globe, the stars So of the northern hemisphere being illustrated in the top plan view, FIG. 3. The same fluorescent disks 12 are employed in the same manner and hence the same reference numerals have been applied to these disks and their path around the interior of the inflated toy balloon is indicated by the dot-dash line 18a. It will be seen that with the modification illustrated in FIG. 3, instead of demonstrating the land and Water areas over which a vehicle passes in orbiting the earth, the constellation of the northern and southern hemispheres under which it passes are demonstrated.

It will be seen that either the visible lines 9, 10, 11,

the mapped land masses 8, or the mapped stars So constitute visible indicia whereby a particular orbit can be observed, selected or maintained and is achieved, broadly, by the provision of visible indicia extending over a substantial part of the area of the balloon and serving as a reference for the orbital path of the disks 12.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention has the unique advantages and accomplishes the various objects previously set forth.

I claim:

1. The method of demonstrating stroboscopic effect with a toy having a transparent body of globular form containing a circular luminescent member visible from the exterior thereof, which comprises gyrating said body in light of pulsating intensity to set said circular member into motion to follow an orbital path around the inner surface of said body, such gyration being at such speed as to cause said member to appear to stand still at an orbital speed synchronized with the pulsations of said light, to slowly advance with increased orbital speed, and to slowly back up with descreased orbital speed.

2. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein the source of intermittent light is a television receiver wherein the intermittent light comprises the number of frames per second scanned by the cathode beam of the receiver.

3. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein the source of intermittent light is a fluorescent light tube operating to produce such intermittent light at the frequency of the alternating current energizing the tube.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,206,867 12/16 Lewis 4689 2,201,486 5/40 Gold 4688 X 2,418,651 4/47 MauSshardt 88l4 2,644,890 7/53 Hollihan 273109 X 2,927,383 3/60 Longino 4688 X RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF DEMONSTRATING STROBOSCOPIC EFFECT WITH A TOY HAVING A TRANSPORT BODY OF GLOBULAR FORM CONTAINING A CIRCULAR LUMINESCENT MEMBER VISIBLE FROM THE EXTERIOR THEREOF, WHICH COMPRISES GYRATING SAID BODY IN LIGHT OF PULSATING INTENSITY TO SET SAID CIRCULAR MEMBER INTO MOTION TO FOLLOW AN ORBITAL PATH AROUND IN THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID BODY, SUCH GYRATION BEING AT SUCH SPEED AS TO CAUSE SAID MEMBER TO APPEAR TO STAND STILL AT AN ORBITAL SPEED SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE PULSATIONS OF SAID LIGHT, TO SLOWLY ADVANCE WITH INCREASED ORBITAL SPEED, AND TO SLOWLY BACK UP WITH DESCREASED ORBITAL SPEED. 